Is Coffee Making Millennials Poor?: Truth In A Cup

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Recently entrepreneurs have talked about millennials and how they will never be able to retire. What are the culprits? Apparently coffee and avocado toast. Millennials have become enraged by the very idea that either of those two are making them poor. I never had avocado toast in my life, but I have at least one cup of coffee almost every day. So is coffee making millennials poor?

I am a millennial, many people run away from being associated by my generation, but I will say it loud and proud, I am a millennial. If you want proof, I like coffee and I tell people about it. This proves that I am a millennial and frankly a little basic. But I also have a sizable retirement account, assets, and no personal debt. Plus I am married, something few millennials are. So is coffee making millennials poor when I have assets and buy coffee? I rarely go out to buy coffee, I brew my own from hot to cold-brew. There is a difference between paying someone to make you your drink the way you want it, drinking it in a comfortable area with A/C and instead making it yourself. I would say going to coffee shops is treating yourself like a king, but kings did not have A/C. One costs a few dollars a cup and the other is a few cents.

Does A Few Bucks Make A Difference?

First of all, a few dollars right now in a S&P 500 will be almost if not over a hundred dollars when a millennial retires. Second, is it just a few dollars? Last I checked people get more than one cup of coffee, some get more than one daily. People say they do not spend that much on coffee or food, but if that is the case why do millennials spend more on coffee and food that is not prepared at home than retirement?

A survey showed that the average millennial spends about $3,100 on food not prepared at home including coffee, meanwhile the average millennial puts only $1,880 in retirement. This is the fact checked version. In all fairness, coffee alone does not do this, but coffee and going out to eat does the trick.

While I am sure that the almost $5,000 represented by going out for food and retirement is not all of the money Millennials spend on non-necessities, the fact that more money is being spent on your taste buds’ happiness than your future should be an unsettling fact

Data from Forbes

Final Thoughts

My advice to millennials, and everyone else, is to watch how often you treat yourself. One cup of coffee only costs a few dollars, but if you keep splurging, these few dollars will add up to a few thousand in a year. Is coffee making millennials poor? With our current spending habits, yes probably. However, it is worth mentioning that the average retirement of millennials has been growing and this is a good sign for my generation.

It is ok to treat yourself every once in a while. In fact, doing it from time to time helps with your mental health. But you should ask yourself if what you treat yourself with is nurturing you or just splurging you. If you feel like it is splurging you, spend less. There are multiple alternatives to splurge yourself. I cook my own food and brew my own coffee. I actually spend more on the coffee I brew than when I go out for coffee each year. Learn how to treat yourself instead of splurging yourself to forge your wealth.

Author: Papa Foxtrot

Most of my life I was careful with money and learned where I should invest it. I was very lucky to have parents who taught me financial literacy when I was young. Unfortunately, I am very lucky because many people lack the financial literacy I know. The purpose of Forge Your Wealth is to teach people who are just starting out in life how to obtain their wealth or anyone who just realized they may need to learn more to handle their finances.
I currently have a PhD in biochemistry, just started a job in industry (will not disclose where exactly for personal and professional reasons) and am currently married to the love of my life. I am one of the lucky few people in America who graduated with no student debts, my wife was not. Over the series of a little over 3 years we paid for our wedding with no debt and paid off her federal student loans.
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